Inside Health Care #69: Dr. Susan Beane on Closing Equity Gaps on a Larger Scale
December 15, 2021 · David J. Smolar
This episode of Inside Health Care features Dr. Susan Beane, Vice President and Executive Medical Director for partnerships and medical outcomes at Healthfirst, Inc.
For more than a decade , Dr. Beane has worked tirelessly as an advocate and consultant for health program design, care management, and further development of clinical provider partnerships. Educated at Princeton and Columbia, Dr. Beane is a primary care physician and board-certified internist, so she understands both the big health care picture and what we call “the ground game” of what it’s like to help and treat patients one-on-one.
Dr. Beane works with health care clients to use data management and evaluation to achieve goals. She focuses on a three-pronged approach to improving health care outcomes: outreach to members; collaboration with provider partners; and innovative programs at the population level, trying to reach the most vulnerable and underserved.
Healthfirst is one of New York’s largest not-for-profit health insurers. Founded by 15 of New York’s largest hospital systems, they’ve pioneered value-based healthcare programs, making sure that providers are paid based on patient outcomes. They work closely with community health care providers in New York City and nearby counties to teach and train them in how best to serve every population with culturally competent care. And by the way, when we say “large”, Healthfirst has worked with over 80 hospitals and over 40,000 providers for nearly 30 years.
Later on, we’ll chat with NCQA’s Assistant Vice President of State Affairs, Kristine Toppe, with a look back at policy changes in 2021 and the road ahead.
